Levi was walking through the castle, having just packed his things, when he heard voices—both male and female—coming from around a corner up ahead.
This was a corridor near the outer walls of the castle. Further on was a small, hall-like room with a domed ceiling, which served to connect the left and right wings of the fortress.
'Could this be one of those cliché scenes where a little maid is having a secret affair with a knight?'
Levi mused, rubbing his clean-shaven chin as his imagination ran wild.
Since arriving in this world, he had read his fair share of popular novels like *Knight Ah Bin*, so he knew such things were common among the nobility.
With that thought, he walked forward.
Of course, it wasn't that Levi was hoping to see something scandalous; it was that he had been walking for what felt like half a day and had finally, at long last, run into someone.
In any case, he at least needed to ask for directions out of the castle.
When Levi rounded the corner, his view opened up, and the scene in the small room came into full view.
SWISH!
Seven pairs of eyes turned to look at him at once.
Before him stood five White-robed Iron Guards clad in Silver Armor and wielding longswords. They were surrounding a girl and another Guard.
"Aargh!" A pained cry rang out.
No, wait. Now there were six.
As the Guard was cut down, Levi fell silent. After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"If I said I was just passing by, would you believe me?"
'What do you think?'
The group, startled by Levi's sudden appearance, didn't say a word, but their expressions made their thoughts perfectly clear.
"Alright, fine. I admit I'm lost and stumbled in here by accident. But that's not my fault, so I won't disturb your... business."
Levi turned to leave, but then, the one thing he was hoping wouldn't happen, happened.
A surprised, joyful female voice rang out from behind him.
"Levi, what are you doing here?!"
"Miss Liya, long time no see."
Levi stopped in his tracks, forcing a smile as he greeted her.
Damn it. This was exactly why he'd wanted to get out of here.
The person surrounded by these Iron Canisters was none other than Liya.
Trapped in the middle of the White-robed Iron Guards, Liya looked at Levi with pure joy, as if she had just seen her savior.
She never expected to run into the very Knight she had personally knighted right here.
"Stop him."
Seeing that the two seemed to know each other, the leading White-robed Iron Guard gave a signal.
Two White-robed Iron Guards immediately moved to surround Levi.
Staring at the five White-robed Iron Guards now menacingly surrounding him, Levi ignored the overjoyed Liya and instead said in a low voice,
"Give me a chance!"
"A chance for what?" the lead White-robed Iron Guard asked, looking confused.
"I had no choice before, but now I've realized something... I don't actually know this young lady."
Liya was stunned. She never thought Levi would say such a thing. Her image of him shattered in an instant.
"Heh," the lead White-robed Iron Guard scoffed, his face practically screaming, 'Do you really think I'd believe that?'
Just as he was about to give the order to attack, one of his men came to his side and whispered in his ear.
"Captain, this Knight... I think he's the Legendary champion who won the Kolon Arena several years in a row."
"Oh?"
The lead White-robed Iron Guard's expression immediately changed as he looked at the smaller man before him.
He knew that the Kolon Arena was an event open to the entire Southern Territory. The participants were all masters of Martial Arts from various regions, making the competition incredibly prestigious.
Winning the championship for several consecutive years was something no ordinary person could achieve. He himself had competed once but couldn't even break into the top twenty.
He had heard rumors about this legendary champion. It was said that he had single-handedly killed an Earth Brown Bear in the Sunset Forest.
His mission was to capture Leia Isely; there was no need to start a conflict with a Knight who was clearly very powerful.
"You're that Legendary champion?" he asked, just to be sure.
"That I am," Levi said with a slight nod, adopting the perfect air of a master.
The thrill of being recognized was like eating ice on a sweltering summer day, a refreshing sensation that shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
It was no less satisfying than walking down the street and having someone ask for your number.
'So my fame has already spread this far?'
The White-robed Iron Guard who had recognized him couldn't contain his curiosity and asked,
"Knight Levi, if you had won the arena championship for three consecutive years, you would have received the grand prize. Why did you stop competing after just two and a half?"
He was an admirer of the Legendary champion, and this was something he had never understood.
Now that he finally had the chance to meet the rumored, undefeated champion of the Kolon Arena, he couldn't suppress his curiosity.
Levi's expression grew complicated, a nostalgic look in his eyes. It reminded him of a certain friend who had also... trained for a similar length of time.
"If you have no further business here, you may leave," the lead White-robed Iron Guard said, interrupting Levi's reminiscence.
"Hey! Levi, I knighted you! You're my Vassal! How can you just stand there?"
Watching Levi seemingly become fast friends with the White-robed Iron Guards in the blink of an eye, Liya finally couldn't stop herself from calling him out.
"My apologies, Miss Liya, but when I took my oath, I swore allegiance to Duke Xilong, not to the Iseley Clan, and not to you!"
Levi felt it necessary to remind Liya to watch her wording, lest she slander his good name.
Liya was dumbstruck. Thinking back, she realized Levi had indeed sworn fealty to Duke Xilong. Since it was the first time she had ever knighted anyone, she hadn't noticed anything amiss at the time.
Now, thinking it over, she realized she had been tricked.
"As a Knight, your actions betray the chivalric code! You're insulting the honor of the Oli Clan's name!"
Liya said, fuming.
Levi gave her an odd look.
"I did indeed swear upon the honor of the Oli name. However, my current surname is Targaryen. What does insulting the Oli name have to do with me, a Targaryen?"
When he became a Pioneer Lord, Levi left the Oli Clan and gained the right to choose a new surname and establish his own family.
It was just a coincidence that he had still been using the Oli surname when he took his oath.
"Huh?"
Liya was utterly floored. She was finally getting a taste of just how treacherous people could be.
She might be smart, but she had never suffered the harsh realities of the world. How could she possibly outwit a slippery old fox like Levi?
It would have been a different story if it were her mother, Onaya Martel, or that old bastard Xilong. They might have stood a chance.